The compound glucosamine comprises glucose and the amino acid glutamine and is found naturally in the human body, made from. Within the body, glucosamine helps produce glycosaminoglycan, a molecule used in the formation and repair of cartilage and other body tissues. Unfortunately as humans grow older the natural production of glucosamine tends to slow with the result that the movement of joints can become extremely painful. In diseases such as osteoarthritis the cartilage that normally cushions the joints can become stiff and non-elastic. As a result, movement of the joint, especially the knee, is not only very painful. If the body cannot produce adequate amounts of glucosamine to help repair the injury, the pain persists and the underlying problem is exacerbated as the joint continues to deteriorate with further movement.
It is known in the art to prescribe glucosamine as a food supplement to persons who suffer from joint pain associated with the body's inability to produce sufficient glucosamine. There is clinical evidence to suggest that taking glucosamine as a nutritional supplement can help repair damaged cartilage by augmenting the body's supply of glucosamine.
Glucosamine is commonly produced from either vegetable matter, e.g., corn, or from the shells of shellfish. Glucosamine is typically mass produced in powder form, with the powder having the same appearance, color, taste, and density, regardless of whether the glucosamine is vegetable-based or shellfish-based. The powder can be ingested with foods, mixed with liquids, or otherwise ingested. However, as a practical matter, neither the end consumer nor any intermediate producer can tell from looking at the glucosamine powder whether it was produced from vegetable matter or from shells from shellfish.
While the source of their glucosamine powder may be of no interest to many consumers, to other consumers it is critical to know whether the glucosamine is vegetable-based or shellfish-based. For some consumers, religious tradition may forbid the ingestion of shellfish based foodstuff. For other consumers who may be allergic to shellfish, ingesting glucose made from shellfish material can cause sickness or even death. Thus, in many instances, a consumer's ingesting shellfish-based glucosamine inadvertently marked by the manufacturer or an intermediate producer as being vegetable-based can have grave consequences.
Thus there is a need for a method by which a manufacturer or intermediate producer of glucosamine can confirm with certainty whether a glucosamine sample under test is vegetable-based or shellfish-based. In this manner, an end consumer purchasing glucosamine marked as vegetable-based can know with certainty that he or she will not be ingesting shellfish material.
The present invention provides such a method.